Since 1990, the number of people working in aerospace in Southern California has more than been chopped in half. When the Cold War was winding down, there were more than 270,000 local aerospace workers, according to the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation. In 2014, there were 85,500 in 2014. It’s a big reason why ever since, the region has had some of the weakest job growth in the entire country.
Industrial production—a broad gauge of output across U.S. factories, mines and power plants—decreased a seasonally adjusted 0.6% in March from the prior month, the Federal Reserve said Friday. Output has fallen for six of the past seven months. From a year earlier, industrial production decreased 2% in March. Manufacturing output, the largest component of the index, fell 0.3% in March.
Insurers say they are losing money on their ObamaCare plans at a rapid rate, and some have begun to talk about dropping out of the marketplaces altogether.
The state’s merchandise exports had a total value of $12.13 billion in February, down nearly 3.5 percent from $12.55 billion a year earlier, according to a report from Beacon Economics, a consulting firm with offices in the Bay Area and Los Angeles.
But there are caveats. The federal subsidy runs out once a manufacturer sells 200,000 vehicles in the U.S. And wealthy California buyers will also miss out: Starting last week, state rebates were no longer available to single filers earning more than $250,000 a year, head-of-household filers making more than $340,000 and joint filers making a combined $500,000.
In another sign that California’s drought has eased but the state’s water system is far from fully recovered, federal regulators announced Friday that Sacramento Valley farmers would get full water deliveries for the upcoming growing season, but many San Joaquin Valley growers would face another year of severe shortages.
A key measure of U.S. manufacturing health tipped back into decline last month, evidence that headwinds from weak global growth, low oil prices and financial volatility are weighing on company spending.
The Latino population in Los Angeles County continues to grow robustly while, simultaneously, experiencing income growth. Put these two together and the County and big business benefit from a rapidly growing consumer base. Indeed, from 2000 to 2014, the number of Latinos in the County grew by 15.5%, compared to a 1.1% decline in the rest of the population. Meanwhile, the aggregate income among Latino head-of-households grew from $45.9 billion to $72.4 billion in 2014
The Port of Los Angeles handled 704,398 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in January 2016, an increase of 33 percent compared to January 2015. It was the busiest January in the port’s 109-year history.
New orders for durable goods—manufactured products designed to last at least three years—rose in January following their worst annual performance since the recession. That improvement, alongside a pickup in a key gauge of business investment, could signal the sector may be preparing to turn a corner.
New passenger car registrations in the state increased 5.8 percent last year, while light trucks were up 19.4 percent.
Industrial production—a broad measure of everything made by manufacturers, mines and utilities—jumped 0.9% in January from a month earlier, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.
The California New Car Dealers Association said Monday that vehicle sales rose to 2.05 million in 2015, up from 1.85 million the year before. The growth rate in California compared with 5.2 percent growth nationally.
U.S. consumers showed signs of strength in January, taking advantage of low oil prices to increase their spending and offering a welcome counterpoint to the gloom that has gripped investors and roiled markets since the start of the year.
California’s 76,400 farms recorded $53.5 billion in sales in 2014, the year Gov. Jerry Brown declared the state in a drought emergency and launched what in 2015 became mandatory conservation for cities and towns. The sales figures are the most recent annual ones released by the state agriculture department.